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Lead Poisoning

Over the many years since we have known about the hazards of lead, tens of millions of children have suffered its health effects. Even today there are still at minimum more than four hundred thousand children under the age of six who have too much lead in their blood. Over the past few months, concerns about lead paint in children’s toys made by companies such as Mattel, Fischer-Price, and Hasbro have come up and stores have initiated several recalls of various toys.

Lead, unfortunately, can cause serious health problems if consumed. It is most common for lead to slowly build up over time from repeated exposure to small amounts of it. Lead is much more harmful to children than adults, because it can severely affect the developing brains and nerves of children. It is estimated that 1 in every 20 kids have too much lead in their blood. Victims to lead poisoning may suffer a lowered IQ, difficulty sleeping, and brain damage.

If lead has been known to cause severe health defects, then why do toy-making companies continue to use lead paint? The answer is simple: it’s cheaper. Paint with high levels of lead sells about three times cheaper than paint with low levels. Companies surely knew that the paint in children’s toys they made contained high levels of lead. All toy-making companies worry about, however, is how well their business is doing economically. Mattel, for instance, makes all of their toy products in China, an intensely competitive, poorly run, and cheap labor market, where taking chances and cut corners to receive higher profits is quite common. The regulations are supposed to safeguard health, particularly in cases involving children, where ingesting excessive amounts of lead has been linked to mental disorders, but enforcement of these regulations is lax in China. Of roughly 39 lead-related recalls this year, 38 were of Chinese-made goods.

We cannot put all the blame on the Chinese Toy Industry, however. We must also consider the fact that the...

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...Leadpoisoning is a health concern that can effect children of all socioeconomic backgrounds. It has been an issue for many years and instances of leadpoisoning can be found throughout history in every country. Children under the age of six years of age and pregnant women are most at risk for leadpoisoning (Lead Home, EPA.gov/lead). Lead can cause serious health problems if consumed. It is more common for lead to slowly build up in the body over time from repeated exposure to small amounts of it. Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it affects the developing brains and nerves of children. It is estimated that 1 in every 20 kids have too much lead in their blood (Lead Home, EPA.gov/lead). Victims of leadpoisoning may suffer a lowered IQ, difficulty sleeping, and brain damage. Leadpoisoning and its affects are preventable with the proper education and testing. Here, I will discuss two articles on the subject of pediatric leadpoisoning, some aspects presented in each that could be positive and negative influences on a child's health and then offer some of my own opinions.
The first article, A Review of a Preventable Poison: Pediatric Lead...

...National Capital Region
Division of City Schools
Batasan Hills National High School
IBP Road Batasan Hills Q.C.
Engineering and Science Education Program
“Dwarf santan (Ixora coccinea) as a Phytoremediation Agent in Lead (II) Contaminated Soil”
Researchers:
Leubert Monsy De Belen
Rodeann Angelica D. Vallo
Ms. Cristine Sealza Sañada
Research Adviser
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research paper would not be accomplished without the generous contributions of any individuals and organizations. The researchers wish to express their deepest gratitude and warmest appreciation to the following people, who, in any way have contributed and inspired the researchers to the overall success of the research paper.
To our ever loved classmates who also given us the inspiration and moral support for us to pursue our research study.
To our parents Mr. and Mrs. Vallo and Mr. and Mrs. De Belen who have given there full support, love, care and understanding to their child in conducting the research study.
To our beloved research adviser Ms. Cristine Sealza Sañada who have inspired and given her full assistance to her researchers in conducting the research study.
But all of this things would not be accomplished successfully without the help of our almighty God who have given us wisdom, love, and knowledge for us to continue and persevere in reaching for our dreams and accomplish our research study.
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...Family From Lead in Your Home
United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Consumer Product Safety Commission
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
December 2012
Are You Planning to Buy or Rent a Home Built Before 1978?
Did you know that many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint? Lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards. Read this entire brochure to learn: • • • • How lead gets into the body About health effects of lead What you can do to protect your family Where to go for more information
Before renting or buying a pre-1978 home or apartment, federal law requires: • Sellers must disclose known information on lead-based paint or leadbased paint hazards before selling a house. • Real estate sales contracts must include a specific warning statement about lead-based paint. Buyers have up to 10 days to check for lead. • Landlords must disclose known information on lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect. Leases must include a specific warning statement about lead-based paint. If undertaking renovations, repairs, or painting (RRP) projects in your pre-1978 home or apartment: • Read EPA’s pamphlet, The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right, to learn about the lead-safe work...

...
Zhang 1
Lead (II, IV) oxide is a pigment used in lipsticks. FDA suggested that there are 400 types of lipsticks on the market contains lead. Lead is proved to be a toxic and when a pregnant woman ingests the lipstick by accident, the lead consumed can be passed onto the infant and might cause mental retardation to the infant. The cosmetic acknowledge the existence of the lead in lipsticks, but since there were no enforcements from the FDA, most companies chose to ignore and continue to sell the contaminated products and a way to solve this problem is for consumers to have the awareness of this issue and being more careful when choosing their lipsticks.
Safer Cosmetics: Use Of Lead In Lipsticks Cosmetics, a necessity in many people’s lives, are associated with beauty and glamour. People’s increasing demand for cosmetics helped to fuel a booming cosmetic industry. Originally cosmetics were extracted and made from natural sources such as plants or mines, but products that rely on natural ingredients often have a very short shelf life. Therefore, a shortcut or alternative way to cheaper, longer-lasting makeups for the cosmetic industry is to introduce chemical ingredients into their products. However, a critical problem that many cosmetic consumers have not yet realized or raised enough awareness is that some components in their daily used cosmetics have negative effects and can be...

...Lead and The Environment
Some materials are so commonplace that we take them for granted. One of
those materials is a grayish metal that has been with us for thousands of years.
That metal is lead, still one of the world's most useful substances, and one
that never ceases to find a role in human society.
Lead has the atomic symbol of Pb (for plumbum, lead in Latin). The
atomic number for lead is 82 and the atomic mass is 207.19 AMU. It melts at
about 327.502 oC and boils at 1740 oC. Lead is a heavy, ductile, soft, gray
solid. It is soluble in nitric acid and insoluble in water. It is found in North,
Central and South America, Australia, Africa and Europe. In modern times, lead
has found a wide range of uses, and world demand for lead and its products has
steadily increased. Lead's usefulness stems from the metal's many desirable
properties: softness, high density, low melting point, ability to block
radiation, resistance to corrosion, readiness to form alloys and chemical
compounds, and ease of recycling. Its versatility, as well as its physical and
chemical properties, accounted for its extensive use. Lead can be rolled into
sheets which can be made into rods and pipes. It can also be molded into
containers and mixed with other metallic elements.
Lead was used in ancient times for making coinage, art objects and water...

...LeadPoisoning
One out of every six children under the age of six are suffering from health disorders due to the poisonous metal, lead. Lead is a natural occurring bluish-gray metal found in the earth's crust. It has no taste or smell. Lead can easily be found in all parts of our environment today. Most of it comes from mining, manufacturing, and the burning of fossil fuels. In the United States lead poison has increased because of the lack of knowledge in our society. Lead is released into the environment by industries, the burning of fossil fuels or wastes.
When lead enters the environment, it starts to become a problem. After a period of about ten days, depending on the weather, it falls to the surface. Here lead builds up in the soil particles. Where it may make its way into underground water or drinking water due to the fact the grounds acidic or if it's soft enough. Either way it stays a long time on the soil or in water. Months or years down the road after the lead has built up it starts to become a problem for children that play outside of their homes . This lead containing soil particles get on the child's hands or clothing and end up in the child's mouth. After the build up of so much lead it leads to lead poison. Leadpoisoning has...

...Leadpoisoning has been a concern for many years. In fact, because of the affects of leadpoisoning, there has been an extensive decline in its use. "Many people believe leadpoisoning is no longer a threat, yet millions of homes contain lead based paint" (Heck, J., 2005, para. 1). Exposure to lead at any level is unhealthy, especially in infants, children, and pregnant women and continues to be an ongoing dilemma in this country. I read two articles concerning leadpoisoning; the first article is from FineTuning, a popular press and the second article is from Pediatrics, a peer-review journal. In this paper, I will clearly summarize each article by comparing the content of both articles. In addition, I will summarize the attention to details communicated in each article. Next, I will discuss the reasons for the research, who conducted the research, the methods used during the research, and the conclusions reached based upon the research. Finally, in this paper, I will discuss what I learned about peer-review journal articles versus popular press articles.
The first article, entitled LeadPoisoning  It's Not an Illness of the Past by Joanne Heck discusses the history of lead based paint in the United States. Joanne Heck's main purpose for writing the article is to help the public understand...